This is strictly a getting things done, leadership development kind of post. Over the past year, our executive pastor has put several of our pastors through the tough but good exercise he calls the 4 x 4. This has proven VERY helpful for me in keeping my time and energy focused on my primary responsibilities as the small groups pastor of the Summit Church. Here’s how it works. The first of each month, I submit my 4 main tasks I am working on over the next 4 weeks.
Here is the key: I do not give endless details of what every moment of my month will be, but do give identifiable action steps I can reasonably accomplish in 4 weeks. This is crucial. David, our Exec pastor, does not want to micro manage me. The point isn’t to give me a monthly evaluation. Last thing anybody needs is another meeting! Neither are these things like “Get Small Groups at the Summit healthy” as that is too big and too vague for a 4 week period. Instead, they are things like “4 writing projects” or “Investigating the following 2 areas for ministry expansion in 2011.” They are tangible, measurable steps.
You know the great thing about the 4 x 4? It isnt the 4 x 20. I can now say NO to some things I was saying yes to if they do not fall under my top 4 things right now. Some months I complete all the work on the list, Some months I don’t. Some months, like this one, I change it a week in because a new priority from the top came through. Bottom line, if you find yourself having difficulty completing tasks or maybe you just struggle with time management, I encourage you to give this a shot.
